Age
14
Country of Residence
Nigeria
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
As a student in a rural community, the idea for 'The Truth Lens Project' was sparked during a period of insecurity in my country. Students were kidnapped in a nearby state not far from my school, and rumours quickly spread through our community. Market women, farm workers, friends, and social media shared claims that our school could be the next target, but no one knew what was true. The fear had a real impact. Students stopped coming to school, and at one point, only about 5% of students were present. Watching this happen made me ask, "What if our students could learn how to find the truth for themselves instead of depending on rumours?” That was my “aha!” moment. I realized that students already observe their surroundings, hear stories, and ask questions, but they need the skills and a trusted platform to investigate information before accepting or sharing it. I saw an opportunity to turn this challenge into learning. Through a student-led press club, students can learn interviewing, research, fact-checking, writing, photography, and public speaking while reporting school and community stories. The Truth Lens Project was born from this realization: our students can become young reporters and trusted voices who investigate, verify, and share the truth.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
I currently lead 9 students in our Press Club, and one of the most exciting things is how quickly other students have become interested. Many students now ask to join because they enjoy our meetings, reporting activities, discussions, and opportunities to speak and contribute. However, I do not want to recruit students simply because they want to belong. I want members who are ready to learn, serve, work as a team, and use their voices responsibly, so I carefully review interested students before admitting them. Our members take different roles as reporters, interviewers, writers, editors, photographers, presenters, fact-checkers, and coordinators. We investigate school activities and issues, discuss our observations during meetings, and share verified information through assembly announcements and our press board. The project has also attracted teachers who are interested in becoming mentors and coaches and supporting the students. As we grow, I will use assemblies, classroom visits, our press board, and student-to-student invitations to engage more people. I want our members to become ambassadors who encourage their peers to question information, verify what they hear, and speak confidently. My goal is not simply to have a large club but to build a committed community of young people who are ready to serve, inform, and use their voices to make a difference.
How many people are on your team?
10
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
My project is already making a difference in my school, even though it is still developing. Students are already investigating and reporting happenings in the school and carrying other students along through assembly announcements and our student press board. For example, during the 2026 Teachers Day Celebrations, we informed students about the public holiday, which many of them were not aware of, and reported the Teachers’ Day appreciation activities where students celebrated and appreciated their teachers. We also created a press board where we post daily school news and important information for students to read. This is helping create a trusted source of information within our school. Instead of depending on rumours they may hear from friends, the market, or social media, students can check the press board or listen to our announcements to know what is actually happening in the school. So far, I am directly working with a student press team and reaching the wider school population through our assemblies and press board. As we grow, I want to train at least 15 student reporters and reach 100 or more students directly through our reporting activities. I will measure our impact by the number of students involved, stories reported, students reached, and improvements in students’ confidence, public speaking, and ability to verify information before sharing it.
Project Category
My project is a brand new / emerging idea
Project Stage
Pilot-Stage (We’ve tried an activity or two)
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
The Truth Lens Project is a student-led school fact-check and civic journalism initiative where student reporters investigate rumors, share verified information, amplify student voices, and create a trusted platform that helps learners think critically, speak confidently, and take informed action in their school and community.
Project title
The Truth Lens Project
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
In my rural community, misinformation and rumours can quickly create fear and affect important decisions, especially among young people. I experienced this firsthand when students were kidnapped in a nearby state not far from my school. Soon, rumours spread through market women, farm workers, friends, and social media that our school could be the next target. There was no trusted student-friendly platform where information could be investigated and verified. The fear became so serious that student attendance dropped dramatically, with only about 5% of students present at one point. This showed me that misinformation is not just about false stories; it can affect education, safety, confidence, and community participation. At the same time, many students struggle to confidently express their ideas, ask questions, speak before others, or report issues affecting their community. Some have good observations and ideas but remain silent because they lack the confidence, skills, or platform to speak up. This matters to me because I have seen how misinformation can create fear while students' voices remain unheard. I want to help students become critical thinkers who can verify information, communicate responsibly, and confidently speak up. By equipping them to become young reporters, we can build a more informed, confident, and connected school community.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
Facebook: Oluwatoyin Adedeji, Tiktok Educator Oluwatoyin
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Over the next year, I want to strengthen the Press Club and grow The Truth Lens Project beyond our current activities. My first goal is to continue training our 10 student members in interviewing, research, fact-checking, writing, photography, public speaking, and responsible reporting. I will also carefully review interested students who want to join and bring in new members who are committed to learning and contributing. I will strengthen our editorial and fact-checking teams so that every news story is properly checked before it is shared. We will continue using our press board and school assemblies to provide students with reliable information about school activities and important community issues. I also plan to introduce a regular student newsletter and, where possible, audio reports and short video news. This will help us reach students and community members who may not have smartphones or reliable internet access. I will collaborate with my teachers, school leaders and mentors and seek partnerships with local journalists, radio stations, community leaders, and education organizations to learn from experienced professionals and create opportunities for our students. As the project grows, I hope to connect with other schools in Odeda LGA and eventually develop a wider youth-led community news platform.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
What makes my project different is that I am not only telling students to stop believing rumours or to be careful about what they see online. I want students to become part of the solution by becoming young reporters who investigate and share reliable information with others. My school is in a rural community where many families do not have smartphones or regular access to the internet. Network connection can also be unreliable, and there is no local broadcasting station in our immediate community. Many people depend on radio stations from Ibadan or other towns for news and information. This means that information about what is happening in our own community may not always reach people quickly or directly. The Truth Lens Project creates a simple, student-led local information channel. Students investigate real school and community events, ask questions, interview people, verify information, and share their reports through assembly announcements, our press board, newsletters, audio reports, and, where possible, short videos. What makes it especially innovative is that we are using resources that are already available to us to create a communication system that works even when internet access is limited. I also want the project to grow beyond my school. As students develop their reporting skills and we build partnerships with teachers, community leaders, journalists, and media organizations, I hope it can become a foundation for a wider community news platform and eventually encourage stronger local broadcasting in Odeda LGA. For me, the innovation is in turning students from people who simply receive information into people who investigate, verify, create, and share it. I want our students to become trusted voices in their school and community.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
I will create a student-led press club where I and other students can learn how to investigate information, tell stories, and confidently speak up about issues affecting our school and community. I will work with my teachers to identify and recruit students who are interested in becoming young reporters. I will encourage students to take different roles such as reporter, interviewer, writer, editor, photographer, and presenter. With support from my teachers and other mentors, I will help organize practical sessions where we learn interviewing, research, fact-checking, identifying reliable sources, writing, photography, public speaking, and responsible use of media. We will put what we learn into practice by observing what happens around our school and community. We will identify stories and issues that matter to students, interview relevant people, gather information from different sources, and verify what we hear before reporting it. We will ask questions like, "Who said this?" What evidence supports it? Can we confirm it from another reliable source? I will work with the team to produce and present school and community news through a noticeboard, newsletter, school newspaper, audio bulletin, or short video reports. I will also encourage students to present their reports during school activities so they can gradually become more confident speaking in public. I will collaborate with my teachers, school leaders, and community members to guide the students while allowing us to take ownership of our work. Through this project, I want to help students become critical thinkers, confident speakers, responsible media users, and young reporters who can investigate, verify, communicate, and speak up for their community.
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
I currently lead 10 students as president of the Press Club. I work closely with the vice president, protocol marshal, 2 editors, and a fact-checking team of 5 across different classes. The Coordinator leads our meetings using our press agenda, while the Editorial Crew writes and edits news and the Fact-Checking Team verifies information. I share leadership by assigning responsibilities and encouraging members to contribute ideas and lead their roles. We also receive guidance from our teachers.
